20595 Seaboard Road

A beautiful secret finally revealed.

Story Posted On: November 1, 2017

For almost sixty years, the DeVault house—the first residential commission of architect Herbert Kameon—has remained a beautiful secret. Perched in the hills above the Pacific Ocean, in the Big Rock area of Malibu, this architectural gem had never been offered for sale until recently when it was listed for $3.195 million.

Influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and his tenets of organic architecture, the 5 bed 3 bath, 1,992 sq. ft. home sits on almost an acre of land. With 180-degree views of the hills, ocean, and islands, the beautifully landscaped property with dramatic boulders, manicured grounds, a swimming pool and koi pond, turns tranquility and beauty into living space.

Frank Lloyd Wright had a hard time defining organic architecture. He wrote:

“The ideal of an organic architecture…is a sentient, rational building that would owe its style to the integrity with which it was individually fashioned to serve its particular purpose—a ‘thinking’ as well as ‘feeling process’.”

For the layman, this translates into a home that grows out of the landscape as naturally as a plant with a unique relationship to the site; has simple uncluttered spaces that flow freely from room to room with the interior space determining exterior form, and that’s built with simple natural materials taking the site and the occupants living there into consideration.

Kameon, trained and inspired by Richard Neutra and a contemporary of Harwell Hamilton Harris, also a Neutra disciple, created a highly original home for 1958. Much of the home’s success can be attributed to finding the perfect sloping lot for the multi-level construction and complex rooflines. The hills of Malibu were perfect.

Wishtoyo’s Chumash Village, Nicholas Canyon County Beach in Malibu

Big Rock Beach Cafe in 1953. Now Moonshadows Restaurant

The home has beamed ceilings, hardwood floors, built-in furniture and shelving, and windows and walls of glass that bring the outside in.

Lovingly maintained by the DeVault family for six decades, the house is the perfect setting for Mid-Century furnishings and objects.

Large windows overlooking the Pacific bring sunlight, ocean breezes, and spectacular views into the living area.

In keeping with organic architecture rules, an area must be slowly experienced as one moves through the space. One space can introduce another such as a hallway moving into a bedroom.

A private lane leads up to the property landscaped with mostly native California plants that are drought tolerant with a sprinkling of tropical varieties. It even had its own citrus grove. Visiting wildlife includes hawk, deer, and humming birds.

The house is made with redwood and surrounded by majestic boulders that are also used to construct flowerbeds, stairs, and pathways.

A lap pool meets the Pacific Ocean creating a horizon line with spectacular views of Catalina, the Channel Islands and “the Queen’s necklace”—the twinkling lights that stretch by night from Point Dume to Palos Verdes.

The woodsy modernism of the house on 20595 Seaboard Road, with its Japanese influence and Frank Lloyd Wright sensibilities, has been hidden for too long. The cat’s out of the bag. It’s about time.

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